The World's Strangest Beaches

Supersize dunes, hot mineral pools, purple sand: These beaches are as strange as they are beautiful.

75 Mile Beach, Fraser Island, Australia

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Stretching as long as its name says, on most of Fraser Island’s eastern shore, 75 Mile Beach looks like a coastal highway—and it’s exactly that. And a runway, too. The hard-packed white sand below the high tide mark allows four-wheel-drive cars to ride and planes to land on it smoothly. Despite the activity, travelers can still have a beach day without getting run over. A prime spot for splashing and sunbathing is the Champagne Pools on the north end. The shallow, sandy rock pools make perfect swimming holes, unlike other areas of the island where dangerous currents lurk. Crashing waves that create foamy water give the pools their apt name.

The World's Strangest Beaches

75 Mile Beach, Fraser Island, Australia

Stretching as long as its name says, on most of Fraser Island’s eastern shore, 75 Mile Beach looks like a coastal highway—and it’s exactly that. And a runway, too. The hard-packed white sand below the high tide mark allows four-wheel-drive cars to ride and planes to land on it smoothly. Despite the activity, travelers can still have a beach day without getting run over. A prime spot for splashing and sunbathing is the Champagne Pools on the north end. The shallow, sandy rock pools make perfect swimming holes, unlike other areas of the island where dangerous currents lurk. Crashing waves that create foamy water give the pools their apt name.

Most of us would relish a day at any old beach. But there’s a certain thrill in sinking your toes into sand at a different kind of shore—one, like Papakolea, that looks so fantastical it could be straight out of a movie.

Quirky beaches just add another layer to the enjoyment. And the fact that only Mother Nature created these strange beaches is perhaps what’s most astounding. No human hands were involved—just the perfect geologic storms of air, water, temperature, and pressure.

Our 50th state is rife with such occurrences. “We have black, black and green, black and red, green, and gray sand beaches in Hawaii,” says Ken Hon, Ph.D., assistant professor of geology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. “The colored beaches are almost all related to recent volcanic activity, except the white beaches, which are tied to coral reef erosion.”

Halfway around the world, years of erosion unearthed immense rounded stones along Cape Town’s coast. Today, Boulders Beach is a beloved spot to swim, sunbathe, and spot African penguins in the shadows of the giant rocks.

In his ranking of the 2015 Top Ten Beaches, Dr. Leatherman ranked Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, in Oahu, HI, as number one. It’s not visibly that different from other pristine shores, but the over-five-mile stretch of white sand is ideal for beach combing and long walks, and the constant presence of Trade Winds allows for safe sailing.

Intrigued yet? Read on for even more strange beaches you’ve got to see to believe.